LOS ANGELES -- I imagine the first time the Ford Motor Co. fired up the assembly line that proud men in suits stood around, marveling at the speed and efficiency at which it operated.

And I suppose that those who heard Ludwig van Beethoven composing his Ninth Symphony melted on the spot when they recognized the brilliance.

I thought about this as I watched Oregon dismantle USC on Saturday, 53-32. Because it was LaMichael James ripping off left tackle, then Darron Thomas blistering to the right, then a breathtaking diving touchdown reception by Jeff Maehl.

That's James. Then, Thomas. Then, Maehl.

Rinse. Repeat.

Any doubters left?

It's evident that what we have in this Ducks football team is one of those unique occasions in which the gears of the operation are humming as if they're greased with pixie dust.

Said USC defensive tackle DaJohn Harris: "We were lined up right, we had the right calls on --- they just gassed us."

Oregon played a weak non-conference schedule, sure. And the Ducks defense gave up a load of yards (377) and first downs (27) to the Trojans, absolutely. But it's time to put away the doubts, and stop talking about what's happening as though it's accidental, and recognize that we're witnessing something special.

Coach Chip Kelly's team is in a rare groove. It's business-like. It's cutthroat. Watching it play this season is like seeing Orel Hershisher pitch 59 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. And Mike Tyson win his first 37 professional fights. And Michael Phelps swim, and Usain Bolt sprint.

USC coach Lane Kiffin looked bewildered after the game. He got ambushed by the Ducks, and even as he held the game statistics, looking for an answer, Kiffin stopped on the second quarter where Oregon held the ball for only 4:11 -- and scored 21 points.

"People say you have to hold the ball and snap it slow and keep them off the field," Kiffin said. "But you can't, really. Because you gotta go try and score some points."

USC managed 32, and for that, they were run out of the stadium.

Some 88,726 came to watch this game, the majority of them pulling for a USC upset of the No. 1 team in the AP poll. And after the game, as I walked from the locker room, up the stadium stairs to the press box, I scanned the ground and saw colorful confetti in nearly every row.

I scooped some up.

Turns out, USC fans rip their tickets in half when they're disgusted. Also, they leave early. But you knew that. Fans bottlenecked the aisles, muttering and talking about what they planned to do with their Halloween with six minutes left in the game.

Beating USC on the road with such workmanlike precision was all the statement Oregon had left to make this regular season. There isn't a bigger challenge left on Oregon's regular-season schedule. No, not even the Civil War in Corvallis, where the Ducks, if they maintain their current focus and precision, might just score 100 points on Oregon State.

We don't know if the Ducks are the best team in the country, but they're demonstrating they deserve a shot to prove it.

So if we're to believe in Kelly's team -- and at this point, can anyone still doubt? -- they'll show up with their lunch buckets against Washington, Cal and Arizona. Then, it's OSU. And if those teams are wise, they'll think about onside kicking every time.

Creating their own luck might be the only chance a couple of them have.

It's what's after that that should get your juices going. Because Boise State would love a crack at Oregon. So would TCU. So would Auburn, I suppose. Maybe a one-loss Alabama will hope for a shot at solving Oregon as well. And this kind of fascinating entertainment and sheer appreciation for excellence is what sport at its highest form is about.

Don't let anyone at Oregon tell you that beating USC was the same as any of the other victories that came before this one. It felt bigger. Because it was. And if anyone in green tells you otherwise, they're playing coy.

The back slapping that went on among boosters, including Nike founder Phil Knight and former athletic director Pat Kilkenny was spirited. Kilkenny said, "I wrote Chip a letter about this game and said I'd never ask him for anything else if he could beat their brains in for us."

And who could blame them?

Ducks fans have been watching games at the Coliseum for three decades and arrived here Saturday plenty tired of getting their teeth kicked in by the Trojans. They were hopeful, but also, mindful that bad things often happen to the visiting team in this old building.

Oregon proved something on Saturday against USC. Not just to itself or its boosters, or even to Trojans fans, but to the entire country.

This was a big statement game by a team that has now posted eight statements in a row. And what it signals is that Oregon understands the stakes, and has the talent, and is putting on a clinic that doesn't look as though it can be solved this regular season.

As you're being swept up in the discussion this week about how to stop the Ducks, let's not lose the ability to simply sit back and enjoy what it is that they're doing.

Kelly crows all the time about "Winning the day." And he preaches a military-like, blinders-on, kind of discipline when it comes to looking too far down the schedule. He says he lets his players celebrate for 24 hours and 24 hours only.

And so when the game ended, Thomas and his teammates skipped around the field. They smiled, slapped backs, and posed for photographs. Then a pack of Ducks players ran to one corner of the stadium, where they reached into the stands and celebrated with Oregon fans.

Thomas ran the length of the field with a single index finger raised in the air.